


Hidden Honey

by Blueishfood



Series: Hidden Honey [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2020-07-11 12:46:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19928281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueishfood/pseuds/Blueishfood
Summary: Nathaniel, an art major, has a bit over the top crush on Chloé Burgeois. Nathaniel’s best friend; Marinette has an unhealthy crush on a certain model. Stopping the romances from blooming is Nathaniel and Marinette's belief of the two blondes dating and it goes both ways.What happens when Adrien and Marinette finds out the truth? They start a quest to set up their two pining best friends while trying to conceal their feelings from each other of course!





	1. Hidden Honey

**Author's Note:**

> Pairing: Chloe Burgeois x Nathaniel Kutzberg, Adrienette  
> Words: 1,3 k  
> Warning(s): None  
> A/N: I’ve been seeing too much Chloenath art. The outcome is a story filled with fluff and fun times! Hope you enjoy!

«Look at him! He’s just so perfect! How can anybody be that wonderful? Seriously. It should be impossible. Maybe he has another outlet for his emotions. Oh my gosh, what if he’s a part of the model mafia? That’s a thing, right? Like modelling drug, mafia stuff? That could totally be a thing. And then we would never get married or have our babies or the hamster in the house by the-”

“Mari. What are you talking about?” Marinette whipped around to look at Nathaniel, the tall boy had his long red hair up in a ponytail, and he was on the bridge of laughter. Marinette shook her head and shoved Nathaniel lightly.

“You’re right. Adrien would never do that. He’s way too sweet.” Marinette sighed and turned to look at the two blondes a few tables away from them in the café.

“He has to be sweet to hang out with Chloe.”

Nathaniel looked at Marinette with an accusing glare.

“What?” Marinette scoffed and sipped her coffee. “No offence Nath, but your crush is a bitch.”

Nathaniel snorted into his tea and glanced up at his best friend.

“I guess it’s normal for me, I was dating you in Lycée after all.” He poked her arm. Marinette glared at her companion.

“For three days you tomato! You always try to pull that one!” She laughed.

Nathaniel rolled his eyes good naturally and turned back to watching the two blondes. They were chatting, sipping their drinks slowly, waiting for their next classes to start. Because of Marinette, Nathaniel knew that Adrien had ordered a Latté with extra milk, and because of… reasons, he knew that Chloe was sipping on her favourite lemon flavoured iced tea. Chloe laughed at something Adrien said. Nathaniel sighed. He liked her laugh. It was a bit loud and a bit noisy, just like her.

“We should probably stop staring before this gets creepy.” Nathaniel said to Marinette, keeping his eyes on Chloe as she flipped her golden ponytail. Marinette shrugged.

“We literally come here to watch them, who are we kidding?” She answered with a slight yawn. “Too bad they’re dating each other when they could be dating us, right?” Nathaniel chuckled at her comment, nodding.

“Yeah, too bad.” He smiled. Marinette downed the last of her black coffee as her alarm went off. She sighed loudly.

“My class is about to start, I better head back.” A gust of cold wind blew over them as another customer came into the cosy café. “I really love the colours, but autumn is the worst.” Marinette shuttered and stood up, grabbing her hat and coat.

“So, are you coming or…” Marinette gestured to finish her sentence, but Nathaniel spared a desperate glance towards Chloe and Marinette laughed.

“I’ll take that as a no. See yah later lover boy.” She smirked at him and turned around, leaving only the ding of a bell behind her.

Nathaniel was glad to say his class didn’t start for another hour. He hoped the rain had stopped by then. Glancing at the beauty before him, the artist grabbed his notebook and pencil, deciding to draw yet another sketch of his favourite lady.

Yes, he knew she had flaws. He knew she was obsessed with bullying the kids at public school (what? Every girl was bitchy in Lycée.) for not going to her rich school. But she had toned it down… A bit. She still had that attitude, but he figured her stakeouts as queen bee had made her daily-self more hero-like.

He liked to think of her as the female, blonde and less genius version of Tony Stark, where he could perhaps someday be her Pepper. If only he would dare talk to her. She wouldn’t want to talk to him anyways, Nathaniel thought as he added the mask to queen bee’s smirking face.

Nathaniel didn’t know why he had this fascination of her. Maybe it was just the secret he knew she was hiding. Maybe it was the affection he knew she needed. Maybe it was the way she scowled at everyone, the feeling of wanting to make her smile. He didn’t know. But he would figure it out.

The artist took his eyes off Chloe to sketch out the outline of her pose, he didn’t know exactly how she would pose if no one were looking. Even if he often stalked the cute blonde on various social medias, he had still to find a picture where she was not aware of the photographer. But that was just part of who Chloe Bourgeois was, he supposed.

Adding the last touches to the sketch, he ended up with a simple spider-man pose, one he had drawn several times before. Nath figured it was one of his better creations as he scanned over the drawing.

When he looked back up to see if his drawing matched the real girl, he found Chloe gone from her seat. Being in his own bubble, Nathaniel had not seen the time fly by so fast, glancing at his watch, he saw the extra hour he had left had almost run out. Jumping up from his chair, he felt his head painfully collide with something.

“Owch!” Nathaniel ducked and turned around to be met with the shampooed hair he dreamed of.

Chloe was wearing a twisted frown, clutching her chin. Eyes widening, Nathaniel grabbed her shoulders and put her down in the chair he’d sat in. He started apologizing in a series of rambles while looking her over for any minor injuries.

“Shut up, you.” Chloe commanded, not looking at Nathaniel as she patted her chin a few times. “It wasn’t your fault anyways.” She glanced up at him. Nathaniel blushed fiercely and shook his head.

“Of course, it was, how could I be so careless? I should have seen-” Chloe held up her perfectly manicured hands to stop him and rolled her eyes.

“Did I tell you that I was standing behind you, artist? I did not. Ergo, not your fault.”

“But-”

“Not a word.” Chloe waited until Nathaniel sat back down before nodded to his drawing. “It’s not nice to draw someone and not tell them, you know.” She scanned the lines on the paper for a few seconds while Nathaniel blushed, not saying a word. He sank further into the leather chair while waiting for her mean comment.

“I like it.” The blonde cocked her head to the side and grabbed the paper before neatly folding it to fit it in her pale-yellow purse. “I’m keeping it.”

Nathaniel watched bewildered at her actions before he nodded quickly. “Yes, of course, you can have it, it’s you anyways so you should take it.” He rambled, stumbling over his words. Chloe laughed and patted his cheek.

“I wasn’t asking honey.” She stood up from her place beside him and put her purse over her shoulder. Nathaniel watched as Chloe turned to walk away but stopped with her hand on the door handle. “Call me if you need a model some other time, maybe I’ll do it for free.”

The young woman walked out the door, the brisk clacking of heels and a flustered Nathaniel left behind. Nathaniel had packed up most of his gear before he remembered, he never got her number.


	2. Hallway Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien kills Marinette. Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: Chloe Burgeois x Nathaniel Kutzberg, Adrienette
> 
> Words: 1,3 k
> 
> Warning(s): None
> 
> A/N: I think this turned out very cute! As always, feedback is appreciated!

Crisp air stung in Marinettes lungs as she walked to her next class. She had spent a few minutes too much watching Adrien sip his coffee and now she was late. If only Nathaniel had been less friendly and Adrien less handsome, leaving would be much easier.

The pricking behind her eyes annoyed her as she picked up the pace. She felt kind of bad for watching the power couple taking a single break in their otherwise busy day. It felt somehow private, and well… it was… But she really couldn’t help it! 

Marinette stumbled over a pile of leaves and sighed at her own clumsiness. 

What they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them. Right?

She reached the door of her building as she felt the heat rise in the back of her neck. Being ladybug meant getting better stamina, but the superhero abilities made running a whole lot easier. She was used to running as Marinette as well, though only between classes. Marinette reached for the handle as her bag dropped slightly off her shoulder. She shifted it when someone else opened the door for her. 

“There you go.” 

The voice was unmistakable. It was him. It had to be. Marinette made sure to put down her blush, if only slightly before she turned to face her crush. She was sure she looked like a mess. With beads of sweat forming in her hairline and baby hairs sticking out like she was female, Asian Einstein.

Adrien gestured for her to walk before him, smiling kindly. Marinette almost swooned. He just had to be so kind to a stranger, didn’t he? She barely concealed her grin as he kept up with her through the hallways. Her class wasn’t far, and Adrien was walking slowly. She hoped the hallway would stretch a bit further as they walked.

“You’re Marinette, right?” Adrien tilted his head and glanced at her. Marinette forgot how to breathe. 

How did he know who she was? She had never had a single conversation with him. One awkward hello in passing maybe, but they weren’t even acquaintances. She knew who he was, but so did everyone else! How… 

Marinette realized she had in fact never responded and nodded quickly.

“Um- I- yes, Marinette. And you’re Adrien I know because, well uh, everyone knows, silly me! Hah.” The young woman shut her mouth before she could make the sentence even worse. Adrien stared at her for a second before he chuckled. 

“Yeah, I suppose so.” He smiled.

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows slightly before she built up the courage to ask.

“How do you know my name?” She asked and instantly blushed as Adrien turned to look at her.

“You entered my father’s competition a few years ago.” He raised his eyebrows as if wondering if she remembered, but Marinette was too focused on figuring out how on earth he noticed her. “You did amazing and you should have won.” Adrien elaborated, he rolled his eyes and continued; “Too bad the judges were corrupted by Mayor Bourgeois or, well, Chloe.” 

Adrien sighed, his steps slowing slightly. “She has changed, after becoming Queen Bee and all. She really tries.” He laughed, glancing at Marinette before he continued. “Tough she was a real handful in Lycée.” 

For a sharp second Marinette awaited the loud screaming and harsh words of Chloe. She looked around, realizing that no one was to be seen in the corridors. The bluenette glanced unsure at her companion and bit her lip.

“Yeah, your girlfriend is something else.” She muttered before she realized what she’d said. Marinette slapped a hand over her mouth, muffling her swear.  
“My what?” Adrien almost shouted. He had stopped in his tracks, eyes big as plates. 

Marinette gasped, hiding her horrified expression behind both hands. She had totally offended him. It was common knowledge that one didn’t talk about their relationship in front of Adrien or Chloe. They weren’t comfortable talking about it. Someone even claimed it was kept a secret. Marinette felt tears well up in her eyes as she watched Adrien looking thoroughly disgusted with her. 

No, no, no, now he was going to hate her for the rest of his life! He would hate her and everyone she was with! She could never make it in the fashion industry if he hated her! She could never walk another step if he hated her! She would be devastated! Crushed! Done. With. Life.

“She’s not- we’re not- She’s just a friend!” 

“…What?” 

They stared at each other. Marinette was confused, and still a bit afraid. Then Adrien grinned.

“Holy shit, no!” He let out a bark of laughter and shook his head. “Chloe and I would never work; how could you even think that?” 

Marinette huffed and crossed her arms. “Well forgive me if I offended you, it’s not like the whole school thinks so or anything.” Her voice was laced with irony and Adrien snorted; he sounded a bit surprised.

“I didn’t know that.” He grinned and the hallway seemed to go pink and glittery around him. “Don’t take it badly but I really think Chloe has a thing for your guy anyways.”   
Marinette was growing more confused by the second. “My… guy?” Adrien cocked his head to the side and smiled.

“Yes? Your boyfriend; the redhead, right? He’s -what- an artist or something?” He frowned at himself, trying to remember.

“No!”

Adrien looked at Marinette, his eyes wide. Her shout echoed in the hallway. She put up her hands in defence, waving them slightly.

“Me and Nath aren’t- well, it’s not that like- I mean like that!” She looked down at her feet, her face heating up a bit. “We’re really good friends but, that’s it.” 

“Well don’t blame me!” Adrien grinned, “The whole school thinks so!” His laughter filled the hallway with fresh air. It seemed to bring Marinette back to reality and she smiled. It was kind of ridiculous, how the whole school seemed to think that two strict friendships were romantic.

They continued walking, both lightly chuckling. They didn't talk until Marinette stopped outside her classroom.

“I’m really late.” Marinette sighed, “But I’m glad we cleared that up.” She continued and opened the door. “Nath likes Chloe too actually.” She added with a smile.

“Wait!” Adrien grabbed her wrist and pushed the door shut. He blushed. “Sorry, I just thought, you know, since they both like each other and we’re their friends, how about we set them up?” Adrien scratched his neck and Marinette looked at him surprised.

“You want us to… wingman Chloe and Nathaniel?” She asked, her hand lifting off the door handle. Adrien nodded. “That’s it?”

“Yes, and assuming we’ll meet up, I get to go out with a pretty lady.” The blonde took a step backwards, smirking. Marinette swore she had seen that grin somewhere else, but she was boiling inside, her thoughts did not make sence. Did this mean what she though it meant? Was Adrien actually flirting with her? With her?

“See you later Mari!” He threw her a two fingered salute, and Marinette thought she saw a half bow before Adrien turned and disappeared behind a corner. 

Marinette slumped against the door, she was shaking from excitement. Or was it out of fright? She could never be sure. The boy she had been crushing on for ages was either very weird or he was flirting with her. Her dream could be coming true!

She really hoped he wasn’t weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Did u understand the pun now? Yeah u did.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 1.2 K
> 
> A/N: So I finally updated! Yay! I'm not looking forward to updating on tublr. It's a lot easier to just put it out here... My tumblr accound has the same name btw if anyone wondered :) Hope you enjoy the chapter! ;)

**From: purrrcastinator2015**

15 minutes ago

_Hello! I might have found your e-mail. Take good notice of the word might. I searched the school website anyways… Give me a heads up if this is Marinette Dupain-Cheng?_

**From: MarinetteDupain-Cheng**

Just now

_Hi! Sorry about the misunderstanding, a lot of people figure I’m named Carl, because of my username. But yes, this is Marinette, who would have thought? Also, may I have the pleasure of knowing who’s contacting me?_

Adrien snickered under his breath and bit his tongue as Nathalie glanced over her shoulder. Damn it he hated night shoots. But at least now he had Marinette to talk to. He already liked Marinette from the way she wrote. Adrien ducked his head as he pondered over if his response. Perhaps he should answer with a sassy comment? He grinned at the thought but decided against it. First impressions were important, right?

**From: purrrcastinator2015**

Just now

_This is Adrien Agreste. Nice sarcasm 😊_

His smile widened. He had finally managed to speak to her today.

A week of him pining to Chloe about how the pretty girl at the coffee shop kept staring at him. A week of Chloe hitting him his arm and pinching him to get him to stand up. A week of glaring at that damn redhead.

And then suddenly she was single. And apparently, she had been all the time. Adrien sighed happily.

He was telling this to Ladybug on patrol tonight. She would be happy, happy but lonely as she usually was. She had to get over that ignorant boy of hers. Honestly, he had wanted to set her up with Nino for a long time now, but of course she had told him no. It would include them revealing their identities after all, and she would not stand for that. Nino probably couldn’t handle his best friend anyways.

His mind wandered to the spotted superheroine with a fond smile. She had been pining for too long about that coffee shop boy of hers. If he didn’t see her, he didn’t deserve her. Ladybug didn’t see it like that of course. His phone buzzed in his hands and Adrien looked down so fast his neck almost broke.

**From: MarinetteDupain-Cheng**

Just now

_Hello Adrien! Sorry about my last mail! So, did you come to discuss the situation with the blonde and the tomato?_

**From: purrrcastinator2015**

Just now

_I did indeed, Marinette 😉 We must discuss our battle strategies._

Marinette lay across her bed, blushing a furious red. How the heck was she supposed to know it was Adrien Agreste emailing her in the dead of night? Who even named their email with a pun? She grinned at his last mail, he didn’t seem to mind her joking reply, at least that was what she had gathered from the winky-face.

Dear Eiffel tower.

Adrien Agreste winky-faced her.

She typed out a quick reply and hit send before she dropped her phone to the floor. She needed sleep if she was supposed to work without endless amounts of coffee tomorrow. Though Marinette doubted much sleep was in store for her tonight ( _ADRIEN AGRESTE HAD WINKY-FACED HER_ ), she did look forward to the upcoming day. Detailed romance scheming was one of Marinette’s favourite pastime activities after all.

And with those not so reassuring thoughts in her head ( _SWEET BABY MOSES, ADRIEN AGRESTE KNEW HER NAME_ ), Marinette promptly fell asleep ( _AND HE HAD HER EMAIL)_.

**From: MarinetteDupain-Cheng**

32 minutes ago

_Let’s meet up tomorrow to plot our course, I know a great coffee place. Good night Adrien_

* * *

The next morning was as horrible as Marinette had thought it would be. Her alarm rang early, because of course she just had to have a morning class that day. Two coffee cups and a few hours later and she was still not ready to meet Adrien.

How could she possibly be ready to meet that… sunshine?

She had placed herself in her usual stalking chair, which in hindsight was probably a bad decision… But in her defence, that chair was the comfiest one in the whole coffee place. She snuggled deeper into her scarf, sipping at her third coffee when Adrien walked in.

He looked… surprisingly human. Usually he would light up the place like an extra star in the sky. Today dark rings decorated the underside of his eyes and his hair was sticking up in all possible angles.

“Hey?” Marinette hesitantly uttered, when it didn’t seem like Adrien realized she was there. His head snapped in her direction, and she smiled.

“You alright?” Marinette asked, offering him the extra coffee she had thankfully remembered to order.

“You’re a lifesaver, Marinette,” he sighed, accepting the coffee and slumping heavily down into the chair next to her. Marinette tried to stop the blush from rising at the praise. It didn’t work.

“Night shoots.” Adrien explained, “Something about the unique lighting? I really don’t know why they do it.” Marinette giggled at his disgusted expression. He was adorable.

“So, do you want to take the planning some other time, or?” She asked, loosening her scarf slightly. Adrien shook his head forcefully, swallowing a mouthful of coffee.

“No!” He almost shouted. “I was looking forward to this.” His grin lit up his face. It made Marinette want to smile. “And besides, this coffee is my favourite, it’ll wake me right up. How did you know?” Marinette blushed a dark red as she tried to come up with an explanation to why she knew exactly what to get him.

“I-uh- lucky guess?” Adrien looked at her for a long second before he nodded.

“Sure, Mari,” he said. Marinette couldn’t decide if that was sarcasm or sleepiness in his voice.

“So, Chlo and… Nathaniel was it?” He sipped his coffee and Marinette nodded. “Do you have any ideas of how we can do this?”

Marinette was trying not to sink into the chair and fall asleep. The whole vibe of the café was cosy and warm. Everything she needed when falling asleep. Adrien snapped her out of the daze with his first idea.

“We could push them into a closet?” Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Are we back to kindergarten?” She asked, one eyebrow lifted. She shook her head, “I don’t think so.”

Adrien pouted, and his lips seemed a little too kissable. Marinette looked away.

“But getting them alone is a good start,” she pondered. She tapped her chin and tucked one leg under the other.

“How about we lock them in an apartment of some sort?” Adrien suggested, biting his too kissable lips to concentrate. Marinette's eyes had somehow decided that they really wanted to look at him.

 _S_ _top it_. She told herself, and almost managed to look away. Almost.

“Uh- you mean like me saying that Alya is having sex with Nino in our place again and then going over to Nath’s while he is at a party or something? Then I could bar the door and pretend to be dead asleep when he comes back and you could say something to bring Chloe that way… She lives pretty close, right?” Adrien grinned widely by the time Marinette finished.

“She does indeed, Mari.” He chuckled, rubbing his hands together pretending to scheme evilly. “You are a mean woman, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I really wouldn’t want to be on your bad side.” Marinette laughed.

“You really wouldn’t,” she agreed. Adrien lifted an eyebrow bud didn’t ask her to elaborate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I have to tell you; the next chapter is the best one yet. Writing it was... feels. Anyways, I'll post it today or tomorrow or yeah, something like that.


	4. Plan set in motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If she wasn't careful, Marinette could fool herself into thinking this was a date. And if she thought that, she would believe it to be completely normal and perfectly acceptable to admire Adrien’s back muscles through his white shirt as he lent forward to grab another controller.
> 
> But that was not acceptable. Because this was not a date. It was a stakeout. Kind of.
> 
> “Oh, shut up.”, she muttered to herself quietly and stabbed an ice cream spoon into the frozen chocolate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words: 1,9 K
> 
> A/N: ... uhhh... timing is not one of my skills.

The plan was set in motion faster than Marinette had anticipated. One of Nathaniel’s art major friends had decided to throw a paint-themed party in celebration of being done with the huge assignments they had delivered that week. Of course, the inner circle had to go, which included Nathaniel, even though he had never enjoyed partying. Marinette encouraged him, and after they left his apartment she headed straight for her dorm, making sure Nath knew where she was going.

A few minutes later Nath had left, and she pulled up her phone. As Marinette pondered over the message, she heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

“Is operation tomato a go?” Adrien’s light hair seemed to glow in the dark corridor, and Marinette made sure her knees had not melted into a puddle on the floor.

“Almost,” she answered, shooting him a quick grin before she sent the message. “There.”

“Great!” Adrien had caught up to her now, and Marinette realized he was holding a plastic bag in his left hand. She gestured to the bag and swore Adrien blushed.

“I figured we could have a movie night,” he muttered quietly, opening his bag for her to see ice cream, chocolate, and crisps.

“Deal.” Marinette grabbed the chocolate chip ice cream and bolted for the apartment, Adrien’s laughter echoing behind her.

“Hey, wait up! That’s my favourite!”

Nathaniel’s apartment was smaller than the one Marinette shared with Alya. Considering he lived alone though, it wasn’t bad. He had a flat screen provided by his father and an almost full equipped kitchen provided by his mother. They were both hard workers and divorced. Nathaniel had dubbed the gifts _the sweet reward after a shitty childhood_. Marinette didn’t comment.

Adrien settled on the leather sofa and opened a package of crisp while he scrolled through Nath’s Netflix. He was wearing grey sweatpants, which Marinette had never seen on him before and tried her best not to look at as she opened the two ice cream boxes. If she wasn't careful, Marinette could fool herself into thinking this was a date. And if she thought that, she would believe it to be completely normal and perfectly acceptable to admire Adrien’s back muscles through his white shirt as he lent forward to grab another controller.

But that was not acceptable. Because this was not a date. It was a stakeout. Kind of.

“ _Oh, shut up_.”, she muttered to herself quietly and stabbed an ice cream spoon into the frozen chocolate.

“What?” Adrien asked, looking up at her, innocent as ever, from the couch.

“Nothing!” Marinette squeaked. Adrien grinned as she blushed and turned back around.

“If you say so.”

“I do.”

“Great.”

His smile shone brighter than anything she had ever witnessed, and Marinette wondered why she hadn’t realized before that the Adrien she had seen talking quietly and smiling softly to Chloe was not the extent of who Adrien was. She wanted to kiss him so badly, and she had only discovered a minuscule part of him.

She really hoped he wasn’t hiding any big flaws. This far his faults seemed enduring rather than appalling.

Marinette ignored the thoughts, smiling back at him before settled down beside him instead.

“What are we watching?” she asked, as she grabbed a crisp from his bag. She liked ice cream more than crisps, but that block of cement would have to wait for a while.

“I’m not sure…”, he scrolled past a few more movies, “Have you seen skyscraper?” Marinette lifted her legs up on the couch and put her back to the armrest.

“You mean the one with The Rock?” He nodded and stopped by a movie where Dwayne Johnson jumped from one building to another, fire in the background.

Marinette shrugged and then gestured for the movie below skyscraper. “Jumanji is way better.”

“Jumanji?” Adrien asked, his pronunciation way off. Marinette did a double take. She lifted her eyebrows. Her mouth dropped. Adrien didn’t react.

“You haven’t seen it?”, she asked in bewilderment. Adrien shrugged.

“I mean I’ve heard of it, but the actors are mediocre at best. So I haven’t seen it, no.” Marinette pulled her feet further up and away from the monster beside her.

“The fuck did you just say to me?”

Adrien gasped dramatically. “Mari,”, he said, eyes wide, “Did you just swear?”

“Shove off.” She poked him in the side with her foot, but he grabbed her ankle and pulled it towards him, onto his lap. Marinette pouted, crossing her arms. “Those actors are super funny.”, she grumbled, glaring daggers at the side of his perfect face.

“I don’t watch humour,” Adrien smiled slightly at her behaviour.

“You will with me.” The stubbornness in her voice was adorable, and Adrien couldn’t resist pulling up the movie to see her content smile, only to scroll past it quickly. Adrien laughed loudly at her outraged shout but stopped short when she kicked her heal to his abdomen.

“Fine,” he wheezed, a grin still slipping past his ‘ _oh so hurt’_ act, and she placed both her feet in his lap. “We’ll see your mediocre movie.”

The next half hour was spent with laughter and apologies. Adrien was forced to admit his defeat at least twice before Marinette removed her feet off him. Adrien ignored the longing he felt when her touch left him and pulled a blanket over them both instead. When they had gobbled up most of the crisps and the chocolate, Adrien wondered loudly and teasingly where the ice cream had gone off to. Marinette stood with a start and slapped her forehead.

“Shit,” she muttered when she once again opened the box. Now it had almost melted completely. In a fit of inspiration, Marinette put the lid back on and filled a bowl with ice from Nath’s freezer.

“Mari that’s not-“ Adrien started, but she ignored him, stuffing one of the ice cream boxes in the bowl and nodding proudly to herself. _That would do it_ , she thought as she walked back to the sofa.

“Mar open up! I know you’re a light sleeper, Mar! Open up!”

Marinette lost the grip on the chocolate chip in surprise. A loud thud echoed in the apartment. Adrien put the chips on the table, his wide eyes watching the door.

“Crap,” He muttered. Marinette stood frozen in the middle of the kitchen, the bowl of ice in hand. Thank goodness she didn’t drop that, if she had, she would have made a real racket.

“MAR! Don’t think I didn’t hear you! I know you’re awake!” Nath screamed from outside the door. Marinette didn’t move an inch, she looked desperately at Adrien. They were both listening to the shouts outside the door when Adrien thought of an idea.

Maybe a weird one but it was still an idea.

Adrien moaned. Deep and guttural, rasping from the back of his throat. It was almost at the verge of a growl.

Marinette almost died right there. It took her a while before she realized what he was doing.

Nathaniel stopped short outside the door, the quiet almost stuffy. Marinette muffled her laughter. Adrien was giving her a look. Crap. She wished she didn’t understand that look.

“ _Do it_!” he whispered, loudly. Marinette shook her head harshly, no way she was fake moaning in front of her bloody crush. No way in hell. “ _Mari do it now!”_

“ _Fine!”_ A high-pitched sound escaped Marinettes mouth. She blushed bright read when Adrien almost doubled over in silent laughter.

“ _Oh my gosh!”_ He gasped for air. _“You sound like a strangled cat_!” Marinette huffed, crossing her arms in anger.

“ _You told me to do it!_ ” She whisper-shouted, pointing accusingly at him. Adrien grinned, beckoning her closer while grabbing a hold of the sofa.

 _“You have to moan like you mean it,_ ” Adrien said, as if it was simple. He groaned loudly. Something stirred in the lower part of Marinette’s abdomen. Her blush turned a shade darker. This would _definitely_ be the day she died. Marinette sighed and closed her eyes to block annoyingly beautiful Adrien from her view, before she let out a soft moan.

She hoped she didn’t imagine the blush on Adrien’s cheeks. He grinned and rocked the sofa back and forth. The wood made slow groaning sounds and Marinette heard Nathaniel’s frustrated sigh outside the door.

“I swear Marinette, if this is just some random dude, I’ll-” Nathaniel had lowered his voice, but he used her whole name, so she knew he was angry. Adrien snickered beside her and Marinette rolled her eyes at him.

“Mari!” Her name sounded beautiful in his rasping voice. Marinette figured moaning Adrien’s name would shut Nathaniel up. He had endured her pining for Adrien for months, and she knew he would be happy for her. He sure as hell wouldn’t stop her. She hoped.

His name sounded foreign and yet known on her lips. It sounded like it was out of her reach, a galaxy away, but at the same time it was never supposed to be uttered by anyone but her. Adrien promptly stopped rocking the sofa. His eyes were wide, and his mouth hung slightly open. Her voice sounded like silk.

Marinette turned an awful red under his stare.

The hallway outside the apartment was silent now. Marinette made sure to still rock the sofa a little so that Nath wouldn’t be listening to nothing. She heard him cough quietly and stepping away from the door.

“I’ll- uh, see if Marc has a couch…” Marinette snuffed her giggles with the back of her hand while Adrien grinned widely. When Nathaniel’s steps retreated, Adrien slumped back on the couch and fished up his phone.

“That was…” Marinette slowly sat down beside him after picking up the ice cream. Adrien laughed.

“Genius,” he said, and waved a crisp in her direction, “We are masterminds.” Marinette figured her face was now permanently red. She stuffed her spoon in the ice cream to hide her reaction and ate the bite.

“This is great,” she uttered instead of responding, her voice muffled by the chocolate chip. Adrien nodded absentmindedly while typing on his phone furiously. Finally, he lifted his forefinger and pushed _send_.

“Done!” he exclaimed happily and placed his phone a little forcefully on the table. Marinette punched the air, laughing as he posed victoriously.

“What did you tell her?” Marinette ate another spoonful with a chip on top. The sweet and salty taste was heavenly in her mouth. Adrien grabbed the other box, salted caramel, and took off the lid. They had yet to restart the movie.

“Told her we hooked up in your friend’s apartment, and that we might have heard him walking off into the night somewhere.” Adrien was oblivious to Marinette’s shocked expression. He continued, “I sounded particularly guilty when I asked her to be on the lookout for a red head.” Adrien turned to smile secretly to her, but his mood dropped when he saw her face. Marinette looked scared to death.

“You did what?” Adrien gulped at her tone. Her eyes were dark as ambers, and deadly serious. Adrien unconsciously put his ice cream in front of him.

“What?” His whisper was almost too quiet to hear, as if not to awake her fury.

“If Chloe knows we ‘hooked up’” -she quotation marked the air to underline the words- “the whole campus will know!” Marinette stood to pace back and forth beside the kitchen. “This was _not_ part of the plan,” she groaned, pulling at the hair that had fallen out of her messy bun.

“If the campus knows…” Adrien mused, another crisp crunching between his teeth, “while we try to convince our friends…” he stood slowly and looked at the panicking Marinette.

“You need to meet my father.”


End file.
